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6h ago

SpaceX Recovering Intact Starship Upper Stage as It Prepares Tentative Late‑August Flight

Engineers will inspect the recovered upper stage to judge heat‑shield performance, informing whether regulators should clear a late‑August launch attempt.

A satellite image taken on August 2 shows Skimmer Tide floating near SpaceX's Starship after it landed in the Indian Ocean.
Image
Starship floats in the Indian Ocean after its July 24 test flight from Starbase. Previous Starships have exploded before or upon splashdown, leaving SpaceX with a new challenge to recover the craft. 
A satellite image taken on August 3 shows the Normand Ranger and SpaceX's Starship rocket. Attached to the nose of Starship is a long line.

Overview

  • Ship 40, which splashed down on July 24 and remained afloat, is being stabilized and towed in the Indian Ocean by SpaceX’s Go Australis and two Norwegian tugboats according to satellite imagery and ship tracking.
  • SpaceX is recovering the vehicle to allow hands‑on inspection of its thermal protection system after a full flight because imagery shows the heat shield largely intact but with missing tiles and rim damage that require close examination.
  • The Super Heavy booster from Flight 13 failed its relight and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, keeping booster restart reliability a key unresolved technical risk for routine recovery of first stages.
  • SpaceX is readying Ship 41 and new boosters and has set a tentative late‑August window for Flight 14 to place operational Starlink V3 satellites into orbit and, if regulators approve, attempt the first tower catch of the upper stage.
  • The outcome of Ship 40’s inspection could directly affect Starship’s move toward rapid reuse, SpaceX’s Starlink deployment plans, regulatory clearance for land recovery, and NASA and investor confidence in the program.